The Legend Of The Ace Pirates
by BloodKnight109
Summary: Join Mason Cross and the rest of his crazy crew as they set sail for their dreams in the second Great Age of Pirates! Will this new crew be able to find the grand treasure of the Pirate King and become the third crew to rule the seas? Or will the Grand Line prove too much for them and put an end to both their dreams and their lives?
1. Chapter 1 Set Sail!

_This is my first fanfiction involving an anime, and I've done it on the great and awesome One Piece! My friend encouraged me to do this, so I hope you enjoy it!_

**Disclaimer: **I own absolutely nothing of the original One Piece, all of that credit goes to Eiichiro Oda! The only things I do own are my original characters, settings, and devil fruits!

**Episode 1: Set Sail! The Dreamer's Adventure Begins!**

Strum village, it was a fairly large and usually quiet little place. Though the village itself merely rested upon a single island with nothing else near it but the endless sea surrounding it, no one complained in the least. The island had a large beach for the children and youth to play on whenever it got too hot and for the adults to cool themselves down. Nearly directly opposite to the beach was a large forest practically crawling with wildlife that provided the villagers with more than enough meat. The village itself was nothing special in particular, it appeared like any other village or town one might come across. However, the village was surrounded in beautiful pink and red foliage that never seemed to age or die out, not even during the winter. Yes, Strum village was indeed a wonderful place. And currently, one of the village's most widely known inhabitants was currently standing on the edge of a cliff on the edge of the island, looking off into the distance, as the morning Sun began to come up to greet the day.

The person in question was a boy in his late teens-his actual age being 17-with short black hair that was still just long enough to barely cover his eyes. The boy stood around average height for his age, if not just a little shorter, and had a rather slim build to himself, though when he crossed his arms, it became obvious that he was slightly muscular. There was also a small scar that stretched from under his right eye to halfway down the side of his face. He wore a short sleeved red dress shirt that had all but the last two buttons done and black shorts, perfect to keep cool in the usually warm weather of the island.

As a gentle breeze blew over the island, he closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp salty scent of the ocean that it carried with it. Taking in another whiff of the wonderful smell, the boy then opened his eyes and took in the sight before him. The wind was blowing quite nice; not too strong and not too soft either, the sun was just getting in the sky good, and there was no signs of an approaching storm anywhere.

_Perfect day to set sail_, he thought, as a large grin broke across his face. "Today's the day, it's finally here," he said to himself, as he crossed his arms and continued to look out into the distance. "How long has it been since then, ten years?"

He then allowed his mind to rewind time in his head, as he thought back to that day.

_**~Flashback~**_

"Mason, come on sweetie, it's time to go home," a young woman called out, as she had finally finished gathering all of the berries from her bushes and had confined them to the basket she held in her hand. The woman was quite beautiful, she had smooth lightly toned skin, long black hair that carried a slight tint of blue in it, and brown eyes that held nothing in them but kindness. She also had a rather slim figure that was slightly curvaceous, but it was clear that she was healthy thin. She wore a gorgeous yellow dress that seemed to catch the light of the sun and shine onto it, almost making look like she was glowing. However, the most prominent feature about her was the warm smile that graced her beautiful face. No sooner than when she said this did she hear a set of small footsteps approaching her from behind.

Turning around, she saw a small black-haired boy; no older than seven, approaching her from out of the deeper part of the forest. His white shirt, blue pants and face were all covered in dirt, however this apparently didn't matter to him, as he was practically grinning from ear to ear. And seeing what he was carrying, it was clear why, on the back of the boy was a giant pig roughly three times the size of the boy himself! "Hey Jessica, do you think we could take this home and cook it for dinner, tonight?!"

At this, the woman let out a quick giggle, as she gave the boy a sweet smile and nodded her head in approval. "Of course we can, you _did _catch it yourself after all, didn't you?"

"Awesome! You're the best, Sis! You want to hear how I got it," he asked, his eyes full of excitement and hopefulness.

"Sure, tell me all about it." The second these words left her mouth, the boy then went into a full play by play of how he managed to catch the creature, as they then proceeded to make their way out of the forest.

In no less than ten minutes, the two found their way back into the village and were currently making there way through the village's shopping district. Just then, a loud and somewhat slurry voice called out to them.

"Yo Jessica! Mason!" Looking a little ahead, the two saw a tall, plump man making his way over to them. The man was obviously much older than the woman, at least by a decade or so. He had short blonde hair that was clearly thinning from age, wore a white shirt that had a few blue stains on it, and long brown pants with black shoes.

"Uncle Steven," Mason yelled, as he ran over to the man. "Look at the big one I caught today," he exclaimed, turning around so the man could get a good look at the dead pig that he was carrying.

"Whoa, it sure is a big one, isn't it?! You know, back in my younger days, I could've caught _ten _of these things blindfolded," he laughed, a good deep laugh. "Ain't that right, Jessica?!"

"Mmhmm, you sure could. I've never seen anyone catch pigs as fast and as skillful as you did, Steven," Jessica said, as she had just come up behind Mason.

"WHOA, NO WAY! Uncle Steven, you've gotta take me hunting with you, one day," Mason exclaimed, as he started to bounce up and down with excitement. At the boy's actions, Steven ruffled Mason's hair as he let out another deep laugh.

"Of course I will! Just name the time and place!"

"Steven, we only have one forest, remember," Jessica asked him, as a look of realization came onto Steven's face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that! In that case, just name the time then, Mason!"

"Uncle Steven, are you drunk again," the boy asked, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"No...yes." At this, all three began to laugh together, as they simply enjoyed this moment together. However, this would soon be cut short, as at that moment, Jessica was suddenly knocked down to the ground.

"SIS! Are you alright," Mason asked, obviously concerned about her.

"Aww look, little Jessica tripped again," they all heard a horrible sickly sweet voice say. Looking up, the three then saw a woman and two men glaring down at them. The woman was tall, yet was also plump like a watermelon with red cotton candy hair; Molly. The two men had the same hair color, but one was short and thin; Jacob, while the other was tall and fat; Trey. Obviously, these three were family. And not just any family, they were the Quartersons, the_ worst_ family in Strum Village. Seeing the three, Mason immediately glared at them all with eyes full of hate and rage.

"What's wrong little Mason, you gonna cry now cause your auntie had another accident," Jacob asked, clearly mocking him.

"Bastards, how dare you do that to Jessica, I'm gonna-," he started, but was stopped by a soft hand being placed on his shoulder. Turning around, he then saw that the hand belonged to Jessica.

"No Mason, it's okay. Really, I should be more careful," she told the little boy, as she picked herself back up.

"Damn right you should, clumsy bitch. And what are you looking at lardo? You got a problem or something," Trey asked, as he came over and got right in Steven's face.

"No, no problem at all," Steven answered calmly, his slurred tone completely gone now. Not believing what he was seeing, Mason could only help but look back and forth between the two and look at them with pure disbelief.

"Sis...Uncle..." By now, others had now gathered in the shopping district and were looking on at the scene with gleeful smiles on their faces.

"Mason, why do you constantly hang around such trash? I mean honestly, look at you, you're filthy," Molly said, as she looked the boy up and down, a look of pure disgust plastered all over her face. "You should be ashamed of yourself! To think, the son of a Vice Admiral being covered in dirt and filth hunting pigs. You're father would be so disappointed in you if he saw what you're becoming."

There it was, the big reason for all of this; Mason's father. Believe it or not, Mason was actually the son of a Marine Vice Admiral who had lived in the village. After his father left the village due to his position, when Mason was only four, he was left in the care of his father's younger sister, Jessica. His aunt had taken the boy in with loving arms and had tendered and cared for him all these years ever since. In fact, the two were so close that he didn't even think of her as his as his aunt, but as his mother or elder sister. He truly did love her with all of his heart, and vice verse. Jessica would often hang around with her brother's friends, who she and Mason's father had grown up together with. Uncle Steven for example, was Mason's father's best friend and also helped to raise Mason, making him family in the young child's eyes.

However, they were the only ones who treated Mason like he truly mattered or belonged as himself. As for the rest of the islanders, having a Vice Admiral from the island had caused the rest of the villagers to gain some idiotic pride and arrogance, They acted like they were practically royalty and that they owned everything. To get to the point, they all acted like they had their heads stuck up their asses. When it came to Mason, they treated him with harsh disdain like his very presence was a burden on them. Though this could have been due to the fact that they expected him to follow in his father's-in fact in his entire family's-footsteps, as nearly every member in the Cross family had joined the Marines and had become great soldiers as well.

The thing was, the villagers figured that Mason would become a great Marine just like his father and had high expectations for the boy. However, these expectations weren't for him, but were for their own selfish ambitions and desires. They didn't look at the boy as himself, and he knew it. They only saw him as his father's child, the son of their proud Vice Admiral. And due to this, they felt like people like Steven and his friends were not worthy to talk to the son of a Vice Admiral from their island, especially since he was the first person in the family to ever become a Vice Admiral. It was even worse for poor Jessica-though Mason never knew why-who they sometimes even physically abused, though most of times not in front of Mason, though he could easily tell by the scratches and bruises she tried to hide from him. Yet no matter what kind of abuse they went through, none of them ever did anything about it.

However, unbeknownst to many, the child had absolutely no interest in joining the likes of his family in the Marines. In fact, if one knew his true desire, they might say that it was the worst nightmare and betrayal for a family of Marines.

"Shut up! Don't you dare bring my father in this," Mason growled, as he continued to stare down at them all.

"HA! You know kid, she's right. You really shouldn't hang around with people like them," Jacob snorted, indicating Jessica and Steven. "It's not good for a family such as yours to be involved with such trashy people. Is it brother?"

"Nope, it sure isn't. In fact, how about we do you a favor and take them out for you," Trey asked Mason. Just then, before he could even process what was going on, he saw Trey throw a punch and connect straight with Steven's jaw, knocking flat on the ground! At this, Mason could easily hear all of the witnesses simply laughing their stupid heads off.

"Uncle Steven!"

"HA! That's what you get you filthy drunk! Teach him where his place is, Trey," Jacob laughed maniacally, as Trey then began stomping on Steven's face.

"Stop it! Stop it right now," Mason yelled at him, as he watched the horrible beating unfold right in front of him. Just then, he heard Jacob snicker sadistically as he then came upon Jessica with a sick smirk on his face.

"And as for you you filthy little bitch...it's time you got this through your dumb little head. You're not worthy to even be called a Cross, you never were and never will be! So why don't you do everyone a favor and quit hanging around this kid!?" Mason then saw as Jacob then raised his hand and balled it into a fist. He then started to bring it down as it came closer and closer to Jessica's face.

However, it never reached it's target, as Mason dropped the pig and rushed up to the man, decking him right in the face. The force of his punch being strong enough to send the short man back a few feet before he landed right on his face.

"JACOB," Molly and Trey shrieked, as they saw looked at their brother's unconscious body. Though his attacker didn't stop there, as the young boy turned onto Trey and landed the same blow onto him as well. Just like his brother before him, Trey flew back a few feet before he too fell onto his face, clearly out cold.

"T-trey! Jacob! M-Mason, what's the meaning of this!? Why are you acting like such a hooligan," Molly asked the boy, however, any other words she might have said ended up getting caught in her throat by the intense glare the child was giving her.

"How dare you...how dare you lay a hand on my family!?"

"Mason," Jessica said silently, as she was too shocked by what she had just witnessed to say anything else.

"Y-you're family? Dear boy, the only family you have is in the Marines, you can't possibly mean these-."

"Cut the crap! Say what you want, but Jessica, Uncle Steven, all of them are my family! It doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks, they've always been my family and they always will be! So don't you ever, EVER LAY A HAND ON THEM AGAIN!"

"Mason..."

"And another thing. I'm not my father and I never will be! I have no interest at all in joining the Marines, and I never will. So get that through _you're_ dumb little heads!"

"But...if you don't want to be a Marine, then what else could you possibly want to be? There's nothing else here you could be. Unless...unless," Molly said, as a look of horror began to come over her face. "Y-you can't honestly be thinking-."

" That's right, I'm not going to become a Marine...I'm going to be a pirate! And not just any pirate either! I'm going to get the best crew in the world, I'm going to travel all over the world, I'm going to have the greatest adventures ever, and I'm going to find the greatest treasure there is! I'M GOING TO BECOME THE PIRATE KING!" After saying these final words, the boy then immediately ran off into the opposite direction, tears of anger running down his face, as the crowd of onlookers could only look with looks of either shock, horror, or a mixture of both. However, the boy knew one good thing would come from all this. He knew now that everyone would stop looking at him as their precious little Marine in waiting.

_**~End Flashback~**_

Thinking back on it, Mason couldn't help but let out a chuckle to himself. Even though he was so young back then, he knew even back then, that he had meant every single word he'd said that day. In fact, that very dream was the very reason he'd been out here so early. He already had to deal with the uneasy pressure the villagers made him feel whenever they saw him. He knew that every time they saw him what was going through their minds; instead of constantly seeing him as simply the son of a Vice Admiral, they now saw him as the person who basically just spit on his family's name by deciding to become a pirate.

It took all the self control he'd had not to go around pounding on their doors and announcing his departure to the many people who most likely would be glad he'd be gone, just to push their buttons one final time. But he managed to somehow fight against his intense desire and gathered all his possessions from home and just came straight here.

"Alright, guess it's time for me to head off, then," he said, as he gathered his things and was about to leave when a voice stopped him.

"You were really going to leave without saying goodbye?" Turning around, Mason saw a face he knew all too well and couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his face.

"Jessica," he simply said, as the woman smiled back at him. "Sorry, I thought you'd be asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. I left you a note so you'd know and wouldn't worry though."

"Why would I have been asleep? Today's my little brother's big day, isn't it? I wouldn't have missed this for the world." Mason couldn't help but grin at her answer, he was truly happy she had come to see him off. While many of the villagers either shunned or clearly showed their disapproval of his dream, Jessica was one of the small few who actually supported it. In fact, she was his biggest supporter and was there for him from the very beginning. And something in his heart told him that she'd still be supporting him even after he left.

Taking a closer look, Mason noticed that she was alone and saw that no sign of movements behind any of the trees behind her. "Where's uncle Steven and everyone else? Wait, let me guess, passed out drunk again?"

"Unfortunately yes, sorry," she laughed, as she walked over to him. "They knew you were leaving today, so they went all out and threw a big farewell party."

"Isn't a farewell party suppose to include the actual person who's going away," he asked, trying to sound serious, though failed as he too was laughing.

"Well you know them, catch wind of some good news and they'll party like it's no tomorrow," she laughed again, finally reaching him. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out something gold and shiny and held it out to him. "They all wanted to be here for you though, they wanted to see you one last time before you took off. We all wanted to give you something to remember us all by, so after hours of arguing, we decided to give you this."

Mason then took the gold object into his hands and saw what it was; a small oval locket. Turning it onto it's side, he saw then opened it and saw something that nearly brought tears to his eyes. It was a picture of him when he had just turned nine, Jessica, Uncle Steven and the rest of the gang. They were all smiling and laughing happily together, just like they always did. However, what really hit him in the heart was the large banner behind them, the banner that they had made for him together_:Happy Birthday Mason! Our Little Pirate King!_

"Sis..."

"I'm sorry it's not much, but we thought that it was the best thing to give you. I just hope you li-." However, anything else she might have said was cut to a stop by Mason suddenly embracing her, his head buried in her chest.

"Y-you thought that I would like this? I love it, thank you so much," she heard him say through sniffles, even though his voice came out a little muffled, she could hear him perfectly. Not using words to answer him, she then enveloped him in her own arms and held him their for a moment, like she did whenever he was sad when he was young.

After what felt like forever, but was most likely only a few minutes, the two released each other, as Jessica then wiped what little tears were left from Mason's face.

"Now go on, you can't achieve you're dream by just standing here," she told him, as she gave him a smile that held within it a mixture of happiness and pain.

"Yeah, time for me to get going," he replied, as he returned her smile with a cheerful grin of his own. Placing the locket in his own pockets, he then turned back to the cliff, gave off a soft chuckle and ran over to it before he jumped off the edge! Seeing this, Jessica's eyes nearly popped out of her skull as she immediately rushed over to the cliff and looked down to see Mason grinning up at her from a small wooden dinghy.

"Don't do that! You nearly scared me half to death," she yelled at him, though she didn't sound mad in the least.

"Sorry about that Jess," he replied, as he grabbed a paddle from inside the dinghy and began paddling away.

"You'd better not fall into the ocean out there! If you do, I won't be there to pull you back out," she yelled out to him, as he was already too far for him to hear her otherwise.

"Don't worry, if I do, my crew will pull me out for sure," he yelled back to her, as he then began waving goodbye to her, which she instantly returned. Looking back at the island one final time, Mason finally realized that this would probably be the last time he'd see his home for a long time. Regardless of the horrible villagers that he had to put up with his whole life, the island was his home. It was where he grew up, where he made friends, memories, and bonds that he'd never forget. This was the place where his dream had begun, where his journey would start from. This place was his beginning. Letting all of that sink in, Mason then stood up in the dinghy and took in as much air into his lungs that he could and then screamed with all of his might-

"SIS, UNCLE STEVEN, EVERYONE! THANK YOU GUYS FOR EVERYTHING! I PROMISE THAT I'LL MAKE YOU GUYS PROUD! I PROMISE THAT I'LL GET A GREAT CREW! AND I PROMISE THAT I'LL COME BACK ALIVE ONE DAY, AND WHEN I DO..._I_ MASON D. CROSS WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

Hearing his words clearly, even from the great distance that separated them, Jessica finally let all the emotion that she kept inside finally pour out as tears practically erupted from her eyes as she said-

"Good luck Mason, good luck my son."


	2. Chapter 2 Welcome To Logtown!

_Hey guys, second chapters now up and running! Just a little heads up, in this chap you'll meet one of my favorite OC's in the story! I based her off of one of my best friends, trust me you guys won't miss her! Now, I'll stop running my mouth an let you read it, hope you like it!_

**Episode 2: Welcome To Logtown! A Purple Flash Appears!**

Four hours, that's how long it's been since Mason had left Strum Village. Though he himself couldn't tell, as he had forgotten to bring a watch-which he realized only after he was at least an hour away from the island-he _could _however tell that he was at sea for quite a while and he was getting extremely bored. After paddling for nearly an hour after his departure, Mason was now where he could raise the sail of the dinghy and let the wind and waves carry him across the sea. However, there was just problem...he didn't know how to navigate in the least. Without any knowledge on how to tell where he was going, he was utterly helpless and was at the mercy of mother nature to take him to the next island.

Now here he was, three hours later, bored, tired, hungry and nowhere near a single island for miles. "Okay it's official, I have absolutely no idea where I am right now," Mason groaned to himself in pure aggravation. He was currently laying on his back in the center of the dinghy, counting the little puffs of clouds occasionally drifting across the blue sky. So far he'd counted at least seventy-one of them, and he was sure that he was so bored now that he was losing or had already lost any sanity he had left.

"That's it," he said, as he then sat up. "First thing I'm doing _whenever _I land, is going looking for a navigator." After saying that, he then took out his old telescope from within his bag for what must have been the fifteenth time and put it to his left eye to scan for any islands. Even though he was doing this, it was more of a reflex than it was his actual will, as he had simply become adjusted to doing it after he'd already done it repeatedly before. Yet just like before, he didn't expect to find anything.

Looking through the thing, Mason was yet again greeted by the despair of seeing nothing but the seeming endless sea around him. Feeling absolutely frustration settling into his bones, Mason threw the telescope down onto the boat and let out an equally agitated groan. "Man, if I don't find some land soon, I don't know how long I'll last," he said, as he heard his stomach let out a grumble, almost like it was agreeing with him. Mason didn't want to take any food from home, even though Jessica said it was okay, Mason still didn't feel right depriving her of any of her rations, so he made sure he didn't take a single bit of food. But now he was wondering if his love for his sister would be his downfall. Maybe he could've at least taken a box of crackers with him. He then looked back to the discarded telescope and took in a deep breath before taking it back into his hands. Before putting back to his eyes, one thought went through his head; _Please let there be at least one island, any island. Just let there be something!_

Putting the telescope back to his eye, Mason then looked out through it and much to his dismay still didn't see any sign of an island in sight. However, he wasn't going to give up and took another good look around him, determined to find something, and that's when he saw it. At first he thought it was a speck that was on the lens of the telescope, but upon closer inspection he immediately knew what it was;an island!

Too happy for any words, Mason then grabbed his paddle and started paddling with everything he had towards the island, nearly capsizing the boat with how much force he was using.

* * *

After nearly another hour of paddling, Mason's boat finally reached land. The second his boat collided with the soft sand of this island's beach, he immediately jumped out of the dinghy to feel the sweet relief of land for himself. He then let out a sigh of both relief and satisfaction as he stretched the nasty kink being in the small boat for so long gave him. _Oh crap the boat_, Mason thought, as he quickly ran back to to the boat, managing to grab it just before a good-sized wave would have carried it out to sea. After securing it to the beach, he then took in the beach before him, it was definitely bigger than the beach he'd known growing up, and it was just as beautiful. Seeing a wooden sign not that far from where he was standing, he then made his way over to it to see that it read, "Welcome to Logtown." _Hmm, that seems like a nice name_, he thought to himself, as he then decided to go into the island's town and find something to eat.

From what he was able to see from paddling near the island, the island was much bigger than his home, and he was able to see many houses and buildings even before he landed, so he knew this place just _had _to have a restaurant or something for him to grab a bite.

However, finding said restaurant was easier said than done, as he had no idea where he was going in the town and was wondering around aimlessly, almost like he was walking around in circles. Actually, he _was _walking around in circles.

"AH MAN! WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR ME TO FIND A PLACE TO EAT AROUND HERE," Mason yelled in complete frustration, not caring in the least about the looks he was receiving from passerbys.

"Excuse me, deary. Do you need help with something," he heard a quiet, and slightly shriveled voice ask him. He then looked to his left, where he heard the voice coming from, but saw no one. To make sure he didn't hear wrong, he turned to the right, yet still he saw no one.

"Did I just hear a ghost," he asked himself, as he then felt something tugging at his pants.

"Down here, deary," he heard the voice again, as he looked down and-to his surprise-saw the source of the voice, which wasn't a ghost. It belonged to a short-and he means short, she came up right to his knees-elderly woman, with her gray hair done into a bun and wearing a purple kimono with a pair of wooden sandals.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't see you down there," he replied honestly, bending down to talk to the elderly woman.

"It's quite alright, no one usually does," she answered him, giving him the kind of smile one would expect a grandmother to give. "Now then, I happen to notice that you've walked through here at least five times. So I can't help but get the feeling that you're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope! I just got here a little while ago," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, so was there anywhere in particular that you were looking for?" At the mere mention of this question, Mason's stomach let out a loud growl, almost as if it were telling him to cut to the chase!

"Yeah actually, I'm looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. But I can't tell where I'm going. Please tell me you know where I can find one," he asked, almost pleadingly.

The woman's thin smile almost seemed to widen at this as she nodded her head at the young man before her. "Why as a matter of fact, I do. You just go straight down from here and make a left at the big red building and you'll find your way into the shopping district of town. And if you keep going further down from there, you should see a tavern. The food there is quite good, so I'm sure you'll be able to find something tasty."

Hearing this, Mason threw the old woman into the air and caught her into an intense hug. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!" After his many thanks had ended, he then put the woman down and took off into the direction she described, with not only the woman but also many others staring at the trail of dust he left in his wake.

"My my, what an interesting young man that one is," the elderly woman said, as she then walked off, resuming her errands. "Why I haven't seen a man like that for quite some time."

* * *

"Man I really owe that old lady one when I see her again," said Mason joyfully, as he stood outside the tavern. With it's worn down looking crab that held a sign saying, "Logtown Tavern," and yellow and brown coloring, he had to admit that it looked better than the tavern back at home.

Upon entering, Mason was immediately captured in the wave that comprised of the scent of rum, food and the constant wall of voices from its patrons. Though none of this seemed to have affected Mason in the least, as he took a seat in the nearest empty table he could find, not showing any irritation in his surroundings in the least. Though his resistance could mostly be attributed to the fact that he had grown use to this, being around uncle Steven and his friends.

Not long after he looked over the menu on the table; his mouth already starting to water at the thought of getting something to eat, did a waitress come up to him. The waitress was quite young, she looked only a year or two older than Mason, with shoulder-length blonde hair and light brown eyes with a slim build to her. "Hey there, never seen you around town before. New here," she asked, giving him a smile.

"Yeah I am! Is it _that_ obvious," he replied, giving her a smile in return.

"Kinda, we don't usually get newcomers around here, so it's pretty easy for us to spot new arrivals. You guys stick out like sore thumbs. Hearing this, Mason couldn't help but return her answer with a grin as she giggled at his response. "My name's Lucy by the way, nice to meet you."

"Mason, same here."

"Alright then, Mason are you ready to order?"

"Yep, I sure am! I'll have one of everything, please," he exclaimed, earning a look of surprise from not only the waitress, but also from several people from several people from the tables nearest to him.

"O-one of everything," she asked, making sure she heard him right.

"Yep, and could you hurry? I feel like I'm starving over here!" With that, Lucy then left to go and confirm his order and within less than thirty minutes, there was a mountain of various foods piled onto his table.

"Hehe, the boy's eyes are bigger than his stomach," chuckled someone in one of the tables next to him.

"Kid's stomach's gonna burst," said another.

"There's no way he can eat it all," another laughed.

"Oh man, this all looks so good! Time to dig in!" And with that, Mason almost instantly attacked his food. Within as little as a minute, he had already finished his first plate of food. In as little as five, he had taken out three more. After twenty minutes after he started, Mason had eaten every last thing on every plate! Needless to say, everyone was in complete shock that he had actually managed to eat all of it, and so fast too! "SECONDS PLEASE!"

"NO WAY! HE'S GOING TO EAT MORE," nearly everyone yelled in disbelief as another mountain of food was soon brought to the table. Just like its predecessor, this mountain was also promptly devoured by Mason as well with ease.

"THIRDS!"

"HE'S STILL HUNGRY?!" After receiving and devouring his third mountain of food, Mason was finally satisfied and leaned back in his chair as he allowed his food to settle.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you were starving," Lucy said, apparently still in shock that anyone could eat that much food at once.

"Yeah I was, but I feel okay now. Man that stuff was great, whoever made all of that sure knows how to cook," he exclaimed, rubbing his now full belly.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, and I'll be sure to give my dad your compliments. He's the head chef here," she replied, as the bell on the front door chimed, signaling that another customer had entered. At the sound of new customers entering the tavern, Mason couldn't help but notice that some of the noise had simmered down almost instantly. "Now just let me get to these customers here and I'll be right back with your bill." She then went off to greet the three men that had just come inside the tavern, Although they all varied in appearance, each of them had a blue bandanna with a picture of a skull with an old black gear behind it, tied somewhere on there bodies. "Hey there, what can I get you guys?"

One of them, a tall bearded man appeared as though he was about to answer, yet when he saw Lucy, he then let his eyes practically glaze over her before a sick smirk crept onto his face. "Yeah I'd like to order something, but I don't think it's on the menu."

At that, a shudder went through Lucy's body as she attempted to keep her cool and do her job. "I'll take that as a no from you," she said calmly. Though at that moment, one of the others; a dark-skinned bald man chimed in.

"Aw come on baby, don't be like that," he said, the same sickening tone rolling off his voice.

"Yeah, we just want to have a little fun. Don't tell us that you don't want to," added the muscular one that had a great amount of tattoos covering half of his body.

"Look, I don't want to start any trouble," she said, as she tried to back away, yet felt something big and hard keeping her from moving any further. Turning her head back, she saw that the bearded man had come up behind her and had now practically become a wall.

"And neither do we sweetheart. All we want is to have some fun. Come on, just relax," he said, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I will _not_ relax, and get your hands off me," she exclaimed, as she tried to pry his hands off of her, yet she found they were locked on like a steel trap.

"Uh oh boys, looks like we got a feisty one here," baldy laughed, as he came up to Lucy.

"Yeah, I love it when they try to fight," the tattooed freak joined as he came up to her as well.

"DAD," Lucy called, as one of them then reached for her skirt.

Meanwhile, Mason had been watching the entire scene unfold in front of him, and by now was burning with anger. Lucy was a nice girl; she had treated him with so much kindness, even though she had just met him and she even gave him food! All of this made Lucy his friend in his mind and when he saw those jerks harassing her it reminded him of how the villagers would treat Jessica. So it was pretty easy to say that he was beyond pissed right now. Just then, as he stood up and was about to make his way over to the scumbags, a purple blur suddenly cut in front of him and was heading straight for them!

Before anyone could tell what had happened, both the bald and tattooed men were shoved roughly away from Lucy; both falling onto nearby tables and toppling them over, causing all of the food and beverages on them to cover both men completely in a sticky mess. As for the bearded man who holding Lucy, Mason saw what appeared to be a foot connect with the side of his face, sending him flying to the other side of the tavern.

After taking a second to recover from what he had just seen, Mason then looked back to Lucy to see if she was alright, but then saw that there was now another young lady standing next to her. This one was nearly the complete opposite of Lucy in terms of her appearance. She had long purple hair that stopped a little past her shoulders and had dark blue eyes that Mason could see practically glowing from where he was sitting. The girl had a rather pale skin complexion on her small frame and was around the same height as Lucy, if not maybe an inch or so shorter. She wore a black shirt with a dark pink skirt that barely came over her knees, as well as a pair of black flat ankle boots.

"Vera," Lucy exclaimed, upon registering the girl in front of her. The girl-now identified as Vera-merely flashed her a quick smile before turning to the left to the grunts of the tattooed man getting up.

"You little bitch, look at what you did! You got crap all over me!"

"Well as far as I can see, the only thing I've done is ruin someone's meal by getting some pathetic pieces of crap on them," she simply said, the slight hint of boredom covering her words.

"You think you're funny don't you? Well guess what we do to smart mouth chicks like you," baldy said as he ran up behind her with a knife gripped firmly in his hand.

"Honestly, why don't these retards ever learn," she mumbled to herself, as she quickly turned to the side to dodge the stab that was meant for her side. Being caught in the momentum of his charge his charge, the bald man nearly fell onto to the floor as his knife connected with nothing but the air, at that same time, Vera raised her right leg up high in the air. Then, as he tried to regain his balance and his head was directly under her leg, she then brought her foot down upon the back of his shiny head, the force of her foot sending him crashing straight down onto to the floor, nearly knocking him unconscious.

At that same time, the tattooed one then pulled out a small cutlass from the holder attached to his waist and came up at Vera with it raised high. Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, Vera stepped back just in time to avoid what most likely would have been a strike that would have beheaded her, and he only managed to cut a single strand of her hair. Seeing the strand flutter to the ground at her very feet caused the girl to become in complete and utter rage towards the man.

"You cut my hair...YOU _ACTUALLY_ CUT MY GOD DAMN HAIR," she exclaimed, as she spun her body around and with one swift swing of her legs, she sent the blade flying out of his hands as another kick met his jaw and sent him spiraling into a nearby table.

"Okay, that's enough of that!" Sudden shout throughout the tavern caused all eyes to glance over to the left, near the bar and meet its source, its source was none other than the bearded man, as his face was completely overtaken in nothing but absolute anger and he held a flintlock pointed directly at Vera. "You think you're bad don't you, you little purple-haired bitch! You see this," he said, taking off his bandanna and showing it to them all. "_This_ is the symbol of the Black Gear Pirates! We're one of the most feared and terrifying crews to ever sail the North Blue! We strike fear into the very hearts of anyone that hears our name! Messing with us means your practically throwing away your li-."

"If you're as bad as you say you are, how come I've never heard of you," Vera asked, no intention of sounding kind or remorseful whatsoever in her voice. "Sound like a bunch of wannabees if you ask me." That was the last straw, he'd had enough.

"That's it! I'll show you and this whole damn town what happens to those that get in the way of the Black Gears," he yelled fiercely, as he rose the gun a little higher so it would be aligned near her head and was about to shoot. However, the second his finger was about to pull the trigger, he felt something shock his finger painfully, as he instantly let go of the gun in surprise. Big mistake on his part, as the moment the gun hit the ground, Vera rushed over to him and planted her foot right into his face, causing him to go flying into the wall, and then the force of the kick sent him literally_ through_ the wall, as he finally fell over and crashed into the stone ground outside, out like a light.

"Now then, unless you two want to get an even worse beating then what you just got, I suggest you grab your buddy over here and get the hell out. And trust me, I can and will give you a worst one if you try anything," Vera barked at the other two, as they managed to pick themselves back up, though it was clear that it was with much effort. Not even daring to see what else she could do to them, they then made their way over to their unconscious friend and hoisted him up, his face already sticky with blood from his most likely broken nose. Using each other to help support him, they then made their way down the street and away from the tavern. However, once they were a safe distance away, they then turned back to tavern and shouted-

"This ain't over you hear us! We'll get you for this you little bitch, just you wait!" And with that last threat, they headed off into town and were lost in the swarm of the townspeople.

"Man, I swear it's always the same with guys like that. It's always _bitch_ this, _bitch_ that. I mean seriously, can't they come up with anything more creative to call me," Vera sighed, as she made her way over to the dropped flintlock and proceeded to empty out all of the bullets inside before throwing it outside.

"Vera, are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you," asked a concerned Lucy, as she came over to her purple-haired savior and tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. However, Vera slapped her hand away.

"Of course I'm okay, did you actually think a couple of idiots like that could really do anything to me," she replied, crossing her hands over her chest. A look of clear irritation cast over her face.

"No of course not, but I still have to ask," Lucy answered, as she chuckled in embarrassment.

"You've really got to stop being so nice to creeps like that you know! One of these days I'm not going to be here to watch out for you."

"Well it wasn't so much that I was being nice to them as I was just trying to do my job." As the two then entered into their own little conversation, the tavern appeared to have gone back to its previous state. Though it was obvious that many of its patrons were now whispering about the scene they had just seen transpire in front of them, though the two girls payed little to no interest in the gossip that flowed around them, as no one seemed to be more into their own conversations than the girls.

That is, everyone except for Mason. He was simply staring in awe at Vera since the whole thing started. Seeing just how easily she took out those three bastards like they were nothing was truly something else to the boy. Even back home, he'd never seen a girl-no-he'd never seen anyone do anything like that before, it went without saying that Mason was beyond impressed by the girl's power. Suddenly, a thought rung through his head as he stood out of his seat and made his way over to them.

_I think I just found my first crewmate!_

* * *

So what did you guys think of Vera? If you liked her, then don't worry though, you'll definitely be seeing more of her in the next chapter! Not to mention that you'll finally get to see Mason in action too! Hope you liked it, please review and look forward to the next one!


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